Alan Turing/UCLH Artificial Intelligence Project
Cardiac MRI , Barts Heart Centre
My first project was focused on the advanced image processing and fractal analysis of cardiac magnetic resonance. Using pixel density analysis and fractal geometry, we developed the first semi-automated freely available tool to quantify myocardial trabeculation. The work included mathematical algorithm testing, advanced R and Matlab programming and clinical validation against ground truths obtained from manual measurements by CMR experts.
The first set of accessible fractal tools that measure trabeculation in the adult human heart, have been validated and are now being released to the cardiac MR community to facilitate further experimentation with, and novel clinical applications of fractals in the cardiac imaging domain. Available here: https://redcaphh.c-cloudservices.net/surveys/?s=oepumD7Nth.
I still work at the Barts Heart Centre imaging department under the supervision of Professor James C Moon. We have recently won the Josephine Lansdell grant, the BMAFoundation for Medical Research Award, to work on the development and validation of darkblood late gadolinium enhancement as a novel quantitative biomarker for lamin DCM.
Be The Change UCL
I am the founder of Be The Change, the largest multi-disciplinary student-led organisation consisting of medical, pharmacy, computer science and business students, working on innovative research and quality improvement projects. The initiative was born out the notion that medical students and allied health care professionals can see hospitals in a different light to managers. We want to propose a model how students can work (for free) with experienced professionals to improve patient care and make our NHS more efficient! We represent a connection between the world-class research at UCLH and the student body at UCL Medical School.
Since its conception in 2016, Be The Change has won the National NHS Quality Improvement Championship. The competition took place in March in the BMA house. The judging panel comprised of representatives from the Health Foundation, Department of Health, NHS England, McKinsey, Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Directors of all five London Medical Schools.
Our group also produced 5 peer-reviewed papers, 14 presentations at international conferences and trained over 100 students on the advances in technology and their potential use in quality improvement. In collaboration with Professor Deborah Gill, the Director of UCL Medical School, we won the prestigious University Staff-Student Change Makers Research Award from UCL.More information on our website http://btc-ucl.com/.
Royal Society of Medicine Digital Health
I am a Digital Health Council Member (previously Telemedicine & e-Health section – link ). The council is focused on the role of digital technology in health and social care setting. The council members organise meetings and conferences, to provide a platform for exchanges of ideas and links with other organisations involved in health-related digital technology developments. As a council member, I led the organisation of Recent Development in Digital Health in February 2019 meeting and the Health Data: Who owns it and How to keep it safe conference in September 2018. I also established an elective award for UK medical students who undertake an elective in the field of digital health of £500 towards their elective funding for the winning student and £250 for the runner up. I genuinely hope the elective prize would encourage more students to get involved in medical technology and enable them to pursue their desired elective!
Watch Out Diabetes
I started Watch Out Diabetes in second year of medical school after doing my cardiometabolic patient pathways module, where I had a chance to talk to patients with diabetes and discuss the difficulties they battle on a daily basis.Watch Out Diabetes is a research-oriented digital health programme focused on developing novel solutions for women at risk of Type 2 diabetes particularly women with gestational diabetes. At the moment, women who have had gestational diabetes are seen at the 6 week check after giving birth and if their blood glucose is within the normal range, they receive no formal care and are only invited for annual blood glucose tests. However, as gestational diabetes is a strong risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes, up to 5 in 10 women diagnosed with gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years of the birth. Therefore, I identified a gap in the current care pathway and saw gestational diabetes as a warning given to healthy, young women who have just given birth and have a window of opportunity to change to improve her health.In spring 2015, the Founders Forum – the premier community for global entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors in the digital, media and technology sectors including Alphabet, Skype, Virgin, LinkedIn and Huffington Post – announced that for its 10th year anniversary, it would organise an F Factor competition and start the quest to find talented young British entrepreneurs. The aim was to empower young people who might otherwise not have access to inspirational investors or world-class technology experts. I came to the competition straight from my second year med-school exams, with an idea about digital therapeutics for diabetes and a simple prototype that I had created using Sketch and Invision apps. At the Founders Forum in June that year, I pitched my idea in front of high-profile judges including Baroness Lane Fox (lastminute.com), Sir Charles Dunstone (Talk Talk), Eric Schmidt (Alphabet, Google’s parent company) and many others. I was lucky be one of the top three finalists. The Founders Forum helped me create an incredible network and set up Watch Out Diabetes.
Initially, Watch Out Diabetes released a simple diabetes monitoring mobile application available here. I then managed to form a team of medical students, dieticians, computer science and business students. We worked with very limited resources and still as full-time students, but managed to develop our first digital diabetes prevention programme for women who have had gestational diabetes. The programme is still very simple and requires further work, but it provides the basic advice and support. Our work has been presented at national and international conferences (Founders Forum, The Royal Society, WHO Diabetes in Pregnancy, China-UK Tech Summit, Silicon Dragon UK…), received media coverage and our first paper is currently under peer review.
